Serious Medicine for Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis doesn't sound like something anyone wants to have. Yet it is the unpleasant diagnosis received by post menopausal women with great frequency. Because our aging population continues to grow and the number of octogenarians and beyond continues to increase, it is now predicted that the number of cases of osteoporosis will continue to multiply into the foreseeable future. That is why senior women or those looking just around the corner to becoming post menopausal can take hope and find help in the latest findings on a new drug to fight osteoporosis.

The Disease Osteoporosis is a disease that is found in several segments of the population, but wherever it is found its symptoms include among other things a thinning of the bones which often leads to fractures. While people can develop osteoporosis as the result of the use of some forms of steroids or as a side effect of sub standard diets, by far the group mostly commonly connected with osteoporosis are post menopausal women usually in their fifties or beyond. As these women continue to age the likelihood that they will develop osteoporosis increases.

As osteoporosis develops bones become more brittle and there is a greater chance for fractures. What is even worse is that the fractures take place often in the spine or in the hip. As a result senior women can become immobilized and confined to bed. The all too frequent side effects of breaks in the hip can be other more life threatening diseases such as pneumonia. The statistics for senior women with osteoporosis who suffer hip fractures is frightening but far more upsetting is the fact the statistics show that 20 per cent of those who suffer hip fractures die within a year of related ailments.

The Medication Womens health specialists have urged women to have bone density tests done to assist in determining those women who are moving in the at risk category for osteoporosis. Efforts have been made to alter diets and prescribe supplements that will help stop the on rush of osteoporosis. Efforts have been made to increase awareness about osteoporosis across the society with some success. How fortunate that now that medical specialists have grabbed the attention of women about the problems inherent with osteoporosis we are also finding new and better solutions to the problem.

According to recent announcements made through the New England Journal of Medicine a new medication seems to be arriving in time to meet the demand among senior women for help in facing the threat of osteoporosis. The newly tested drug is called "Reclast" and the results of its trials are truly hope inspiring. Medical specialists have revealed that the use of thedrug brought about a 70% reduction in new spine fractures and a 40% lowering of hip fractures. The U. S. Food and Drug administration has given its approval for this new medication and for the first time senior women can look forward hopefully to a drug that will not include painful and disabling fractures because they now have the option of serious medicine for osteoporosis

The Administration of the New Drug Besides the awe inspiring promise that Reclast holds out to senior women, potential users are excited about the way in which the drug is administered. No longer will women have to deal with a daily regimen of medications . Nor will it be necessary to take a pill once a week or even once each month. Reclast will be administered as a serious medicine for osteoporosis intravenously in a 15 minute infusion once each year. The convenience for senior women will be considerable and for those with memory issues a real gift.
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Side Issues. As with any new medication there are some side issues. Of enough concern to mention is the fact that some patients experienced heart arrhythmia's in conjunction with taking the medication. More tweaking hopefully will resolve that issue.

On the positive side is the fact that though the drug was tested on post menopausal women there is the possibility that the drug or its near relative may be of help to other parts of the population affected by osteoporosis such as those taking steroid medications and those whose bone density has been eroded by eating disorders.

It is infrequently that the medical community is able to announce something as promising as Reclast. For the researchers, doctors and especially the patients who are mostly senior women, Reclast may well be the long awaited serious medicine for osteoporosis